An outline of Set Theory and its application

A project report for the partial fulfillment

Submitted to:
Narayan Sapkota
Gaindakot Namuna Secondary School, Gaindakot

Submitted by:
Name: Samir Shrestha
Section: 11 'A'
Roll no: 88
Years: 2078

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 Acknowledgment
I must express my sincere thanks to my respected teacher Mr. Narayan Sapkota,
for each invaluable and untiring guidance, encouragement, and suggestion from the
beginning to the end of the writing of the report.
A number of my friends and relatives have been very much helpful to me during
the preparation of this report. It is not possible to mention all names. In particular, I
wish to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation to my parents for
giving valuable suggestions and affectionate encouragement.
I am very indebted to my brother Mr. Sagar Shrestha for his inspiration and
suggestions, which are indeterminate.
Finally, I wish to heartily thank my friends for their valuable suggestions and
inspiration on ungrudging help and active corporation. My special thanks go to my
brother and all of my relatives and friends for wishing me all the best.

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 Abstract
The objective of this paper is a comprehensive study related to Set and its
applications. The generality of set theory leads to few direct practical applications.
Instead, precisely because of its generality, portions of the theory are used in
developing the algebra of groups, rings, and fields, as well as, in developing a
logical basis for calculus, geometry, and topology. These branches of mathematics
are all applied extensively in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, and
electrical and computer engineering. Developed at the end of the 19th century, set
theory is now a ubiquitous part of mathematics, and can be used as a foundation
from which nearly all of mathematics can be derived.

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Contents
Chapter 1......................................................................................................... 9
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................... 9
1.1 History of SET Theory......................................................................9
1.2 Importance............................................................................................. 9
1.3 Objectives:............................................................................................ 10
Chapter 2....................................................................................................... 11
MATHEMATICAL ARGUMENTS.............................................................11
2.1 Basic Definitions............................................................................. 11
Formulas..................................................................................................... 13
Properties of Sets....................................................................................... 13
2.2 Solving Technique of Set Theory....................................................13
2.3 APPLICATIONS................................................................................ 15
Chapter 3....................................................................................................... 16
3.1 Analysis and Interpretation...............................................................16
Chapter 4....................................................................................................... 17
Conclusion............................................................................................... 17

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 Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 History of SET Theory
Set theory is the branch of mathematics that studies sets, which are collections
of objects. Although many types of objects can be collected into a set, set theory is
applied most often to objects that are relevant to mathematics.
The modern study of set theory was initiated by George Cantor and Dedekind in
the 1870s. After the discovery of paradoxes in informal set theory, numerous axiom
systems were proposed in the early 20 th century, of which the Zermelo-Fraenkel
axioms, with the axiom of choice, are the best known.
Georg Cantor
A set is a Many that allows itself to be thought of as a One. - Georg Cantor
The History of set theory is little bit different from the of most other areas of mathematics. For
most areas a long process can usually be traces in which ideas evolve until an ultimate flash of
inspiration, often by a number of mathematicians almost simultaneously, produces a discovery of
major importance. Set Theory is the creation of only e person named “Georg Cantor”. It was
with Cantor’s work however that set theory came to be put on a proper mathematical basis.
Cantor’s early work was in number theory and he published a no. of articles on this topic
between 1867 and 1871. These, although of high quality, give no indication that they were
written by a man about to change the whole course of mathematics. The modern study of set
theory was initiated by Georg Cantor and Richard Dedekind in the 1870s

1.2 Importance
Set Theory is a branch if mathematics that studies sets, which are essentially collections
of object. For example: { 1, 2, 3} is a set. Set theory is important mainly because it serves as a
foundation for the rest of mathematics- it provides the axioms from which the rest of
mathematics is built up.
Set theory is important because it is a theory of integers, models of axiom systems,
infinite ordinals, and real numbers, all in one unified structure. This allows it to serve as a
foundation for all of mathematics, anything you talk about in mathematics can be formalized in
set theory naturally and easily, and studying set theory.

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1.3 Objectives:
From the set theory's inception, some mathematicians have objected to it as a foundation for
mathematics. The most common objection is set theory. A set may be regarded as a homotopic 0-
type, with universal properties of sets arising from the inductive and recursive properties of
higher inductive type. Principles such as the axiom of choice and the law of the excluded middle
can be formulated in a manner corresponding to the classical formation in set theory or perhaps
in a spectrum of distinct ways be proven to be a formulation of these axiomatic principles allows
required to derive various mathematical results.
Set theory is the mathematical theory of well-determined collections, called sets, objects that are
called members or elements, of the set. The pure set theory deals exclusively with the set, so the
only sets under consideration are those whose members are also set.

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 Chapter 2
MATHEMATICAL ARGUMENTS
2.1Basic Definitions
A set is defined as a collection of objects or symbols having a certain property that
enables us to decide whether a given object symbol is or is not in the collection. In other words,
the collection of well-defined objects is called a set.
The object in the set may be anything such as numbers, rivers, mountains, schools, etc.
the individual objects of a set are called elements or members of that set. Sets are usually
denoted by the capital letters A, B, C,………..X, Y, Z, and the elements of sets are designated by
lower case letters a, b, c,………x, y, z. The relationship between an element of the set and the
set itself is expressed in the form "is an element of" or "belongs to" or "is a member of". We
use the symbol  to denote this relationship. If x is an element or member of set A, then we
write x  A. If x is not a member of a set A, then we write xA. Thus, the symbol  is used to
denote "belongs to" whereas denote "does not belong to".

Types of Sets:
Subsets
A collection of some of the elements of a set A is called a subset of A. It is denoted by  . Its
formula is 2ⁿ.
Proper Subset
A proper subset is where the element of one is entirely contained within the other. It is
denoted by . The formula of proper subset = 2ⁿ -1.
Power Set
A collection of all possible subsets of a given set N is known as a power set. It is denoted
by 2ⁿ
For example
N= {1, 2}
2n = {, {1}, {2}, {1, 2}}

Single ton set

Union of set

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Union of two set A and B is denoted by AB and defined as AB={x: xA or xB}

Intersection of sets
The intersection of two sets A and B is denoted by AB and defined as
AB={x: xA and xB}

Difference of set
The difference of two sets A and B is denoted by A-B and defined as
A-B={x: xA and xB}

Complement of set
The complement of a set is denoted as: A =U-A={x: xU and xA}

Symmetric Difference
If A and B are two subsets of universal then the symmetric difference of two
set a and B is denoted and defined as:
A∆B = (A-B)  (B-A)
A∆B = (AB) – (AB)

Importance point to Remember

Formulas
Some of the most important set formulas are as follows:

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 For any three sets A, B and C
n ( A ∪ B ) = n(A) + n(B) – n ( A ∩ B)
If A ∩ B =  ∅, then n ( A  ∪ B ) = n(A) + n(B)
n(A) = n( A – B) + n( A ∩ B )
n(B) = n( B – A) + n( A ∩ B )
n ( A ∪ B ) = n( A – B) + n ( A ∩ B) + n( B – A)
n ( A ∪ B ∪ C ) = n(A) + n(B) + n(C) – n ( A ∩ B) – n ( B ∩ C) – n ( C ∩ A) +  n ( A ∩ B  ∩ C)

Properties of Sets
1. Commutative Property : 4. De-Morgan’s Law :
 A∪B = B∪A  Law of union           : ( A ∪ B ) ' = A' ∩ B'
 A∩B = B∩A  Law of intersection : ( A ∩ B ) ' = A' ∪ B'
2. Associative Property : 5. Complement Law :
 A ∪ ( B ∪ C) = ( A ∪ B) ∪ C  A ∪ A'= A' ∪ A =U
 A ∩ ( B ∩ C) = ( A ∩ B) ∩ C  A ∩ A'= ∅
3. Distributive Property : 6. Idempotent Law And Law of a null and universal set :
 A ∪ ( B  ∩ C) = ( A ∪ B)  ∩ (A ∪ C) For any finite set A
 A ∩ ( B ∪ C) = ( A ∩ B) ∪ ( A ∩ C)  A ∪ A = A
 A ∩ A = A
 ∅'= U
 ∅ = U'
2.2 Solving Technique of Set Theory
1. A(BC)=(AB)(AC)
A  (B  C) ={x: x A (BC)}
={x: xA or (xBC)}
={x: xA or (xB and xC)}
={x: (xA or xB) and (xA or xC)}
={x: x(AB)  (AC)}
= (AB)  (AC)
2. A ∩ ( B ∪ C) = ( A ∩ B) ∪ ( A ∩ C)
 A ∩ (B ∪ C) = { x:x A ∩ ( B ∪ C)}
= {x: xA and x( xB or xC)}
= {x: (xA and xB) or (xA and xC)}
= {x: x( A ∩ B) or x( A ∩ C)}
= {x: x( A ∩ B) ∪ ( A ∩ C)}
= (A ∩ B) ∪ (A ∩ C)

3. A-(B-C)(A-B) (AC)
A-(B-C) ={x: xA and x (B-C)}
= {x: xA and (xB or xC)}

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 ={x: (xA and xB) or (xA and xC)}
={x: x (A-B) or x(AC)}
= {x: x (A-B) (AC)}
= (A-B) (AC)
4. A∆B = (AB) – (AB)
 A∆B = (A-B)  (B-A)
={x: x(A-B)  x(B-A)}
={x: (xA and xB) or (xB and xA)}
={x: (xA or xB) and (xA or xB)}
={x: x( AB) and x (AB)}
= (AB) – (AB)
5. (AB) '= (A'B')
 (AB)’ = { x:x ∈ (A U B)'}
= { x:x ∉ (A U B)}
= { x:x ∉ A and x ∉ B}
= { x:x ∈ A' and x ∈ B'}
= { x:x ∈ A'∩B'}
= A'B'
6. ( A ∩ B ) ' = A' ∪ B'
 ( A ∩ B )' = { x:x  ( A ∩ B ) '}
= {x: x ∉ (A ∩ B) }
= {x: x ∉ A or y ∉ B}
= {x: x ∈ A' or y ∈ B'}
= {x: x ∈ A' U B'}
= A' U B'
7. A-(BC) = (A-B)-C
 A-(BC) = {x: xA-(BC)}
= {x: xA and (xB and xC)}
= {x: (xA and xB) and xC}
= {x: x(A-B) and xC}
= {x: x(A-B) –C}
= (A-B)-C
8. A-(BC) = (A-B)  (A-C)
 A-(BC) = {x: xA and x(BC)}
= {x: xA and (xB or xC)}
= {x: (xA and xB) or (xA and xC)}
= {x: x(A-B) or x(A-C)}
= {x: x(A-B)  (A-C)}
= (A-B)  (A-C)

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2.3 APPLICATIONS
Set theory is applicable not only in one field or in an area. Because of its very general or
abstract nature, set theory has many applications in other branches of mathematics e.g. discrete
structure, Data structure, etc. In the branch called analysis of which differential and integral
calculus are important parts, an understanding of limit points and what is meant by continuity of
a function are based on set theory. The algebraic treatment of set operations leads to Boolean
algebra, in which the operations of intersection, union, and difference are interpreted as
corresponding to the logical operations “and”, “or” and “not” respectively. Boolean algebra is
used extensively in the design of digital electronic circuitry, such as that found in calculators and
personal computers. A set theory provides the basis of topology, the study of sets together with
the properties of various collections of subsets. Likewise, properties of the natural and real
numbers can be derived within set theory, as each number system can be identified with a set of
equivalence classes under a suitable equivalence relation whose field is some infinite set.

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 Chapter 3
3.1 Analysis and Interpretation

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 Chapter 4
Conclusion

From formulating a logical foundation for geometry, calculus, and topology to creating
algebra revolving around the field, rings, and groups, applications of set theory are most
commonly utilized in science and mathematics fields like biology, chemistry, and physics as well
as in computer and electrical engineering. Therefore, for gaining knowledge about any area or
field of discrete structure and mathematics, data structure, topology, etc. it is very important to
know about set theory because the concept of set theory cannot be neglected